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Posted: 12th January 2024

WSAVA scholar to research canine distemper virus
Lotta Truyen has been named WSAVA 2023 Michael J Day Scholar.
Lotta Truyen was awarded a grant to inform vaccine strategies.

A veterinary student will investigate canine distemper virus (CDV), after being awarded a World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) scholarship.

Lotta Truyen, a student at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Hannover, Germany, has been named WSAVA 2023 Michael J Day Scholar and awarded a US$15,000 grant for her research.

Her research will investigate how canine distemper virus-specific maternal antibodies transfer from mothers to their puppies. She will study antibodies that are extracted from colostrum and cord blood, and compare their function and structure to the antibodies in the mother’s blood.

It is hoped that discoveries from Ms Truyen’s work will advise future vaccine strategies for CDV.

Canine distemper is a contagious and severe disease, which attacks the respiratory, gastrointestinal and nervous systems of dogs. Puppies are at particular risk, and international veterinary guidelines advise that dogs are vaccinated.

Ms Truyen will conduct her research between February and April 2024 at the Caddy Lab at Cornell University in New York. The laboratory is developing canine-specific functional antibody assays, which will be used to understand antibody activity.

Clinically applicable results from Ms Truyen’s findings are expected to become available towards the end of 2024.

The WSAVA Michael J Day Scholarship, supported by MSD Animal Health, awards financial support to researchers investigating small animal infectious disease, clinical vaccinology or immunology.

It is named to honour Emeritus Professor Michael Day’s contribution to vaccinology and immunology in companion animals, while he was chair of WSAVA’s Vaccination Guidelines Group from 2009 to 2020.

Dr Mary Marcondes, chair of the WSAVA Vaccination Guidelines Group, said: “Among the many high-quality applications we received in this second year of the WSAVA Michael J Day Scholarship, Ms Truyen's project stood out and we look forward to reviewing the outcomes of her study.”

Lotta Truyen said: “I feel honored to have been selected and am looking forward to working with Sarah Caddy at the Baker Institute at Cornell University on maternal antibodies.

“I am also excited to be able to attend WSAVA World Congress 2024, where I will present my results. Thank you, WSAVA, and thank you, MSD, for creating this wonderful opportunity.”

Information about the scholarship application process for 2024 will become available soon on the WSAVA website.

Image © WSAVA



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